It was an innings full of fortune and flair, bravado and borrowed time, but most importantly for Brad Haddin it was an innings crammed with runs

Brydon Coverdale at the Adelaide Oval30-Nov-2008
Brad Haddin took seven months as a Test player to reach his first century, and then ensured it was a big one © Getty Images(file photo)
Brad Haddin has been adamant that he wants to leave his own mark on the Test team instead of trying to copy his unique predecessor Adam Gilchrist. Eight unremarkable appearances into his career his mark was threatening to become a blot but his 169 in Adelaide has confirmed him as Australia’s wicketkeeper of the future.It was an innings full of fortune and flair, bravado and borrowed time, but most importantly for Haddin it was an innings crammed with runs. No Australian had made a higher Test score since Ricky Ponting opened the 2006-07 Ashes series with 196 at the Gabba and for Haddin, the effort has strengthened his resolve that he must play his natural aggressive game.He and his two brothers run a fitness company and Haddin seems like he would be more comfortable with ten frenetic minutes on the speedball than an hour of sweating on the stepping machine. It’s an approach that has served him well in limited-overs cricket, where he has been considered good enough to play ODIs as a specialist batsman. It’s also a method that will bring him scrutiny at Test level, as he has discovered in his first year at the highest level.Haddin has not been terrible with the bat in his first eight Tests; although he failed to post a half-century he averaged 26.07 and that was a mark that in the pre-Gilchrist era would have been considered perfectly acceptable for the team’s gloveman. It is the style of his dismissals that brought him under the spotlight.Of the five times he was out in his debut series in the West Indies, he was caught playing attacking strokes thrice and once was lbw going for a cross-batted shot. In India his six dismissals included a mistimed drive to mid-on, a stumping when he advanced to Anil Kumble, and a catch at cover failing to pick Ishant Sharma’s slower ball. Such endings can look ugly at Test level, especially when the team needs steadiness as it did in India.By the time his first Test on home soil came around at the Gabba last week, Haddin was so nervous that he felt he was tensing up and unable to play his natural game. He began defensively and it meant that when New Zealand made the tempting bowling change to bring on the medium-pacer Jesse Ryder, Haddin’s eyes lit up and his attempted drive was edged to slip.An astute thinker on the game who has been a successful captain of New South Wales, Haddin knew the pressure was building. So when he clipped a boundary through midwicket off Tim Southee to bring up his first Test century, his excitement was understandable. Haddin swung his bat around and around, so wildly it looked like he was winding up for the hammerthrow, and a kiss of the helmet and hug from Michael Clarke completed the celebrations.The pressure was off and with his glovework also improving, Haddin was feeling at ease. He was fortunate to get to triple-figures but rarely does a batsman stroke a truly chanceless hundred. He was on 3 when he tried to hook a short ball from Chris Martin and survived the confident appeals of the New Zealanders, who thought he had nicked it behind. There were other moments of luck when balls bobbled past the stumps or were struck close to fielders, and the most obvious let-off came when Daniel Flynn dropped a sitter when Haddin chipped Daniel Vettori to mid-on when he had 72.The good fortune allowed Haddin to show his full range of strokes, something he had been unable to demonstrate before at Test level. He punched the fast bowlers for well-timed fours that raced across the expansive Adelaide Oval outfield, he used his feet to Vettori and went over the top on several occasions and when his century was safely confirmed, he let loose with a couple of sixes clubbed square off Aaron Redmond.Haddin was effective but rarely did he look like a typical Test batsman whereas his partner in a 181-run stand, Clarke, was every bit the five-day compiler. Clarke’s 110 was his fourth Test century this year and his style could not have contrasted more vividly with that of Haddin. Clarke was on 48 when Haddin came to the crease and the men reached their centuries within 14 balls of each other.The most noticeable difference was in the way they handled the indefatigable Vettori, who bowled 31.4 overs for the day. Vettori took an over-the-stumps, outside-leg line that in most situations would be viewed as defensive. To Clarke it was; he kicked the majority of the deliveries away and waited to score at the other end. To Haddin, it was a viable ploy to get him out. He was uncomfortable thrusting his pad to the ball and he could use the method for only a few balls at a time before sweeping over the top or advancing to drive.Haddin’s tactics worked on this occasion but they won’t always be successful in Test cricket. Perhaps he could learn something from the measured approach taken by Clarke, and by Michael Hussey on the second day. But maybe that’s asking Haddin to be something he is not and when a man has just made 169 in his ninth Test, it’s hard to argue against him playing his natural game. Haddin’s style of play will lead to spectacular successes and extravagant failures but if the fans and selectors appreciate him for who he is, he has every chance of leaving his own mark on the Test team.

India have lost the last four times they’ve turned up for a Test at the Basin Reserve, and some of their heaviest defeats against New Zealand have been at this ground

S Rajesh01-Apr-2009After India’s dogged fightback in Napier, they will go into the Wellington Test as favourites to wrap up the series, but if past stats are any indicator, New Zealand will fancy their chances of turning the tables on India despite spending three days in the field in the previous Test without a positive result. More than New Zealand’s good record here, the home team will be encouraged by India’s struggles at this venue.New Zealand have themselves lost about as often as they’ve won here, but India have lost the last four times they’ve turned up for a Test at the Basin Reserve. (They’ve only lost to New Zealand nine times in all, which means almost 50% of their defeats have come at a single venue.) Some of their heaviest defeats against New Zealand have come here too – their innings-and-33-run loss in 1976 is their only innings defeat against them, while they also lost by ten wickets the last time they played a Test at this ground. Their innings-by-innings list doesn’t make impressive reading either, with seven scores of less than 225 in ten innings.

If the trend from the previous New Zealand-India Tests at this venue continues, expect batsmen from both teams to struggle to get the runs. In five previous Tests, New Zealand’s batsmen average 24.43 runs per wicket, which is four runs better than what the Indians have managed. There have been 13 fifty-plus scores from the home team, but Geoff Howarth was the only one to convert it into a century. The Indians have had three centurions here – Sachin Tedulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajit Wadekar – but they’ve also had many more low scores.

Recent stats also suggest the conditions here are excellent for seam and swing: in the last ten Tests here, since 2002, fast bowlers average 26.47 runs per wicket. The average for the spinners – who have only taken 55 wickets during this period – is exactly ten runs more.

Among the New Zealand bowlers in the current squad, the fast men have all done well here: Kyle Mills has taken 15 wickets in four Tests; Chris Martin has 40 from nine, with four five-wicket hauls. The strike rates for the fast bowlers is excellent too: it’s in the late 40s for Martin and James Franklin, while Mills, who has the best average but the poorest strike rate among the four, takes a wicket every six overs. The stats aren’t as impressive for Daniel Vettori, though – in 16 Tests he has taken 44 wickets, and average of less than three wickets per match, with each costing him 38 runs. His only five-wicket haul here was against Sri Lanka in 2006 in a rare match dominated by spin – Muttiah Muralitharan took 10 for 118 to take his team to victory.

With the stats so heavily in favour of fast bowlers, it’s hardly surprising that teams winning the toss have mostly put the opposition in to bat: in the last ten Tests, the captains have taken this route seven times, and five times they’ve gone on to win the match.The innings-wise average runs per wicket indicates, there isn’t much difference in the first three innings, but in the fourth innings teams have done significantly better, suggesting again that bowling first have historically been a good option here.

The partnership stats too suggest that batting later in the innings is easier than tackling the new ball: average partnership for the first two wickets is less than 30, but it increases to 43.78 for the fourth wicket.Among the Indian batsmen in the current squad, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are the only ones to have played more than one Test at the Basin Reserve. Tendulkar has done well here, with three 45-plus scores in four innings. Dravid, though, averages 27.75.Those who only played in 2002-03 have hardly scored any runs here, which isn’t surprising since India totalled 161 and 121 in their two innings: Virender Sehwag scored 14 in two innings, while VVS Laxman failed to score a run in the match.

Since Lara retired following the World Cup in April last year, Chanderpaul has averaged 105 an innings in Tests, with five hundreds, and 88 in ODIs, with two

Tony Cozier14-Sep-2008
Shivnarine Chanderpaul averaged 91 in Tests and 74.75 in ODIs between August 2007 and August 2008 © DigicelCricket.coms
The distance between Shivnarine Chanderpaul and the rest in the ICC’s annual Cricketer of the Year award last week was every bit as absolute as Usain Bolt’s in the 100 metres at Beijing a fortnight earlier.Its impact on a sport, for which the West Indies once set the standards, but which has now fallen on hard times should be as equally strong as Bolt’s on athletics. It is a shining light amid the continuing gloom, an example to the coming, indeed the present, generation of what can be achieved by “the sort of dedication, bravery and skill required to excel at the highest level” as ICC president David Morgan put it in reference to Chanderpaul’s success.His stats over the relevant period (from August 2007 to August 2008) were phenomenal. His average of 91 an innings in his eight Tests against three of the strongest contemporary teams, South Africa, Sri Lanka and No.1 Australia, was 12.3 runs better than the next man, Andrew Symonds. In 13 one-dayers, his 74.75 also topped the list, more than six runs ahead of Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan. No world record was involved and there were certainly no exuberant celebrations, even though, as a friend noted, Bolt was copying Chanderpaul’s stance in running the last 20 metres of the Olympics 100 sideways.These are two West Indians different in every way except in their pursuit of excellence – Bolt, the giant, loose-limbed, party-loving Jamaican, Chanderpaul the quiet, unassuming, “elfin” (to use Australian writer Greg Baum’s word) Guyanese.The former delights in his success and relishes the limelight; the latter celebrates his landmarks with a gentle kiss of the pitch and regards the interviewers’ microphone as a dangerous weapon to be avoided.Yet they have both stressed that hard work, commitment and love of their sport are what got them where they are. They are attributes seemingly ignored by West Indies cricketers of recent vintage, so many of whom have wasted natural ability far more apparent than Chanderpaul’s. Chanderpaul, of course, could not have maintained his record of consistency over his 14 years as an international batsman without talent. It is just that it has been honed by diligent practice, from the time his father and friends bowled at him as a frail boy, hour after hour, in the environs of their humble home in Unity Village.He has not had the benefit of academies and centres of excellence or, until this year, a contract in English county cricket. It has been based on strict self-discipline.While others are relieved when a long, hot session in the nets is over, Chanderpaul is begging for more. Even team media managers Imran Khan and Philip Spooner report they spend extra time hurling down balls to help him refine a certain shot.He is now resident in Florida, where willing Imrans and Phillips are not readily available, so he has installed a bowling machine to keep him sharp. It is such dedication that has developed his game so that he has become as adaptable as any batsman of his time.His basic method is still peculiarly his own. It is based on a quirky front-on stance from which he commits himself to safety-first strokes so late that pushes and deflections are his main run-earners. It is not pretty but, as he never tires telling the critics, it works for him. Ask the bowlers who, on four separate occasions in Tests, have taken more than 1000 minutes between innings to dismiss him. Yet, over the years, he has had the confidence and inventiveness to develop an attacking side that can strike suddenly, like Clark Kent emerging from the telephone booth as Superman. His basic method is still peculiarly his own. It is based on a quirky front-on stance from which he commits himself to safety-first strokes so late that pushes and deflections are his main run-earners. It is not pretty but, as he never tires telling the critics, it works for him. Ask the bowlers who, on four separate occasions in Tests, have taken more than 1000 minutes between innings to dismiss him The contrast can be as great as his self-centred grind for 11 hours, 25 minutes over an unbeaten 136 in Antigua in 2002 and his seven and three-quarter debut Test hundred against India at the Kensington Oval in 1997 to his hundred off 69 balls against Australia in Bourda in 2003, the fourth fastest in Test history.When someone had the bright idea of using him to open in ODIs as counter to Chris Gayle, Chanderpaul often matched his power-hitting partner run for run. They formed the West Indies’ most productive ODI first wicket pairing until someone had another bright idea and slipped Chanderpaul back down the order.Not that it has made much difference, as indicated by his ODI record, both over the ICC awards period and overall (average 40.49, strike-rate 70, 74 sixes, after 235 matches). His unforgettable four and six off Chaminda Vaas’ last two balls of the match to clinch victory over Sri Lanka at the Queen’s Park Oval last April were almost enough by themselves to have earned the ODI Player of the Year award.For much of Chanderpaul’s career, he was in the inevitable shadow of the supreme genius of Brian Lara, often his fellow left-hander’s steady partner, most famously along the way to his first Test record 375 in Antigua in 2004.He is now the last man standing from the team in which he made his debut, aged 19, against England on his home ground at Bourda in 1994. Such longevity enhances his reputation as does his response to Lara’s departure that has elevated him to the team’s one truly world-class batsman.Since Lara retired following the World Cup in April last year, Chanderpaul has averaged 105 an innings in Tests, with five hundreds, and 88 in ODIs, with two. Not since the great George Headley, “Atlas” of the 1930s, and Lara himself, has a West Indian batsman carried the batting to such an extent.Quite apart from the team’s depressing decline, Chanderpaul has not been free of personal disappointment and despair. Injuries and illnesses eliminated him from 17 Tests in the late 1990s into early 2000. Thrust into the captaincy by the acrimonious dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), he was let down by some senior players who dissed him for choosing to keep on playing rather than boycott the 2005 tour of Sri Lanka.It prompted his resignation after the New Zealand tour of 2006 but it could not destroy his love for the game or his commitment to West Indies cricket.As his exploits are acknowledged with the award of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, named in honour of the finest West Indian cricketer of all, Chanderpaul has set standards for all those to follow. Xavier Marshall, Leon Johnson, Adrian Barath, Kieran Powell, Kraig Brathwaite and other up-and-comers, please copy.

It’s the first time since England put them back in at the Queen’s Park Oval and Sabina in the 1968 series in the Caribbean that West Indies have followed on in successive Tests

Tony Cozier18-May-2009It’s the first time since England put them back in at the Queen’s Park Oval and Sabina in the 1968 series in the Caribbean that West Indies have followed on in successive Tests.They just survived in the first instance, two wickets away from defeat at the end. In the second, it was England who were in the same precarious position with eight down for 68 after an hour and a quarter tacked on at their request following a crowd riot when they were on top. It was one of the most remarkable turnarounds in Test history. Not surprising, the incomparable Garry Sobers was to the fore each time.There is no Sobers here and the present team, already beaten in the first Test by ten wickets, will be hard pressed to escape, far less repeat Sabina’s 1968 near miracle. They could not hold out in their first innings yesterday, in spite of Ramnaresh Sarwan’s polished 100, his 15th in Tests, and Denesh Ramdin’s sparkling 55, and were three down second time round, Sarwan and captain Chris Gayle included.The sight of Shivnarine Chanderpaul resuming this morning gives some hope of prolonged resistance for few have responded to such a crisis as he has done throughout his career, more especially over the last two years. Late in the evening, in his second appearance for the day, Chanderpaul duly surpassed Viv Richards as West Indies’ second-highest scorer in Tests. It is an achievement that will please him, as it should, but no more than if he denies England the victory that appears almost certainly theirs at present.He needs help, of course, just as Sobers did at Queen’s Park, from Wes Hall who stayed the last hour and a half with him to repel England, and at Sabina from Seymour Nurse and, with the ball, Lance Gibbs who matched his three second innings wickets.Lendl Simmons starts alongside Chanderpaul. He is a novice at this level but has shown the resolve, if not quite the technique, necessary to fight. He can choose no better time than now to make his mark. Brendon Nash, Chanderpaul’s fellow left-hander with a similarly dogged approach to batting, has provided him with essential support more than once since his belated entry to Test cricket last December. He is unlikely to be dismissed as unluckily as he was yesterday.Ramdin follows. The example he set at Lord’s and again yesterday should be heeded by Jerome Taylor and Sulieman Benn. Both must appreciate that the indignity of another heavy defeat will not be avoided by their carefree batting yesterday.These have been two woeful Tests for West Indies. They have been utterly outplayed in every department by an England team stunned by their surrender of the Wisden Trophy in the Caribbean and desperate to recover it. Their bowlers were aggressive and hostile yesterday, rarely giving the batsmen breathing space.Stuart Broad’s dismantling of Sarwan, a batsman with a hundred in the book and in command, was classic fast bowling. Broad launched a bodyline attack of pinpoint accuracy, forcing Sarwan to fend rising balls off his chest and once flooring him with a hit to the box. Finally, he made one lift so steeply that all Sarwan could do was opt for self-preservation. He saved his face but not his wicket as the catch lobbed off the shoulder of the bat to gully.England’s has been the intensity necessary at the highest level of any sport. It has been markedly missing in the West Indies effort and, for all the talk of the unsuitability of Test matches in the alien conditions, in the damp and the cold of May, the players are well paid professionals expected to overcome adversity. Today is their last chance.

Four years on from his greatest moments, Andrew Flintoff was at it again with a match-winning performance

Peter English at Lord's20-Jul-2009Bloody Andrew Flintoff. Bruised, battered, triumphant Andrew Flintoff. One bad leg, another great home Test against Australia. There he is, raising his arms again in his parting-the-waters pose, leading England closer to the Ashes promised land.Minutes after the match Princess Anne was at the back of the pavilion, policemen clearing her way through the fans, but only a handful stopped to watch her pass. England cricket’s royal was on the field, spectators shouting and bouncing at his latest effort to prevent an uprising from the Dominions.He’s a man who, given the condition of his right knee, should be kept to five-over spells. Not interested, his mind says. After his fourth-ball removal of Brad Haddin, who was caught at second slip, he spoke at Andrew Strauss. “Just to let you know I’ll keep bowling until all the wickets are gone.” He did, taking 3 for 43 in ten overs and toasting himself by lunch. No weak link or cartilage here, just more tormenting of Australia.Everyone in England has 2005 tattooed on the brain, when England rode on Flintoff’s back and the visiting batsmen’s feet turned to concrete. The calendar says 2009 but perhaps time has frozen. Once again the Australians are trying to talk like they are still capable of dominating the contest; Flintoff is sitting back, lounging like he’s puffing on a cigar. He would be fun to be out with tonight.No wonder the home supporters don’t mention the excessive drinking and disappointment of 2006-07. Why stain his contribution by looking at his failures? Always look on the bright side of life, without the irony.He started with a fruity Sunday morning sermon to Phillip Hughes and finished with 5 for 92 the following day. Not the worst time for his third five-wicket haul in Tests. Despite the emotion and a twinging, throbbing knee, he is determined to make it to The Oval, bowing out with more industrial-strength noise.”I’d do anything to get out on the field and finish the series,” he said. “I bowled all my overs, I might have been in a bit of discomfort but I’ve been in discomfort most of my career. It’s encouraging I can come in and bowl as many overs as I have done, it bodes well for the last three Tests.”Strauss rated Flintoff in the top three bowlers that opposition batsmen hate to face, due to his “consistent hostility”. Ricky Ponting compared the potency of his top-class spells to those from Ambrose, Walsh and Akram, bowlers from an era few modern players can remember. Talk of Flintoff’s injury and the possibility of him not making it through the series are not being listened to by the Australians.”I think it’s rubbish,” Ponting said. “If Flintoff can bowl like that today I don’t think he’s in any danger of missing the next Test.”After taking care of both openers on the fourth day, Flintoff ended England’s fears of an Australian world record with Haddin’s edge. He followed up by bowling Nathan Hauritz and when an inswinger broke Peter Siddle’s stumps Flintoff dropped to his knee. Accepting the applause – “I milked the crowd a little bit” – he was swamped by his team-mates who hugged the air from him.On the Australian balcony there were glum, stubbled faces caused by a familiar foe. “We’ve always said that when he’s up and running and bowling as well as he can he’s as good as anyone probably going around,” Ponting said. “He gives his all. His spells have not got shorter through the game.”And Flintoff thinks he is becoming faster and smarter, the only thing hampering him being the trailing of strapping tape and pain-killers. “It’s quite sad in some ways that I feel I’m getting better as a bowler,” he said. “It’s just unfortunate I’m having to do what I’m doing with where the body’s standing up. I’m learning a bit more about bowling and how to bowl.”My length is naturally probably a little bit shorter and aggressive. Once you get the batters back, probably the full-length ball is a little bit more threatening. I’ve got an understanding of what to do, I’m going to have to apply that in the next three games.”He was talking less than an hour after the match but already his name was taped to the bowling honour board, his five wickets earning a spot six years after he made it on the batting list for a century against South Africa. That was “nice”, he said, but winning the Ashes means much more. A second grabbing of the tiny urn will be worth a retirement full of limping.

Australia’s series win has been among their most characteristic – and least. And Ponting has been at the heart of it all

Sidharth Monga10-Nov-2009One can see why Ricky Ponting rates this series win right up there with the more special triumphs – the World Cup, the Champions Trophy, which are the pinnacle of ODI cricket. And to think that before this series, having beaten England 6-1, he seemed as interested in these seven-match bilateral back-and-forths as in meeting Harbhajan Singh for a coffee.It is special, for it is perhaps Australia’s most human success. It is special, for it stretched Ponting’s leadership; for it was not the sort of one-sided clinical triumph Australia are used to. Limited-overs cricket makes a case for replacements coming in and immediately doing well enough, but losing nine players, five of them during a tour, is no joke. Just to put it in perspective, look at how India did without Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan in the World Twenty20 in England, or without Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer in the Champions Trophy in South Africa.This series tested Ponting’s patience and resourcefulness, and Australia’s bloody-mindedness. It was their most un-Australian display: dropping catches and missing run-outs (Hyderabad), bowling poorly at the death (Vadodara and Nagpur), wasting good starts with the bat (Delhi and Mohali). In effect, for a change, they looked capable of beating themselves. Yet this was their most Australian display: hanging in, clutching to last straws, taking risks when they were least expected to, fighting back after making mistakes, and opportunistically jumping on the first small window Sachin Tendulkar provided them in Hyderabad.In a way Ponting epitomises the quintessentially Australian aspects of their unexpected success in this series. As the team has grown weaker by the day, Ponting, in a way, has come to resemble Allan “Grumpy” Border more. He is one of the very few current players who openly criticises the schedules that non-ICC Twenty20 tournaments have resulted in. Border apparently went to the extent of forbidding his players from talking to opposition players, lest it softened them when they played. Ponting is not a fan of players turning up the evening before the start of a tough series for Australia, especially when one of them, his key fast bowler, injures himself in the next match. He lets it be known that he wishes “the next generation of players coming through have the same sort of want and desire to play as much international cricket as I have, because that’s what it’s all about as far as I’m concerned”.Ponting went on to complain about the poor practice facilities in Delhi, and the umpires not allowing him a ball change, other than the one after 34 overs, when the dew came down in Delhi, but he also took responsibility when a boundary-less period between him and Michael Hussey cost them the match.That loss in Delhi came on the back of a mauling in Nagpur. Over those five days, they had lost five players to injuries, and whatever momentum they would have hoped to carry from Vadodara. After Delhi, Ponting looked resigned. “Where do you go from here Ricky?” he was asked. “Mohali. Tomorrow.”He did go on to say he was proud of the way his team had fought. “We are just trying to get on with it [the injuries], we are just trying the best we can. We are trying to play the best cricket we can. We are finding it a little bit difficult at the moment. We will keep giving our 100% and keep hoping that one of these close games we can win.”

As the team has grown weaker by the day, Ponting, in a way, has come to resemble Allan “Grumpy” Border more

Ponting will have no complaints with what he got out of the resources that were available to him. The ferocious pride in playing for Australia was all there. Beating Australia takes more than skill, Sachin Tendulkar will testify. MS Dhoni even remarked after the Hyderabad loss that it was the mental battle that they lost – the final collective step that they didn’t take. It’s like Rafael Nadal, who makes you hit an extra shot. Australia make you take that extra step. It was the sudden transformation that Suresh Raina’s wicket brought in Australia that night that makes beating them so difficult. Until then, they were dropping catches, they were missing direct hits; suddenly, after that wicket, they regrouped, ready to attack, knowing Tendulkar was the match.Tendulkar’s innings will be the abiding memory of this series, in a time when not much stays in the memory. Hussey’s consistency, Shane Watson’s aggression, Shaun Marsh’s willingness to put his hand up, Peter Siddle’s hostility, might be forgotten. But in the end the small things mattered.If you count being bowled out as 50 overs played out, India scored more runs than Australia did in the first six matches, at 5.41 an over. Australia managed 5.3. Yet the scoreline says 4-2 to Australia. Guwahati and Nagpur cancelled each other as facile wins, Mohali and Delhi as tense but easy ones, but it was in the close ones, the thrillers in Vadodara and Hyderabad, that Australia proved to be tougher.Not for no reason does Sourav Ganguly reckon that India will come out better for this continued struggle with Australia. They came here without hullabaloo – no claims of thrashing India, no smug quotes in the media. In three days’ time they will leave, having reinforced their place as the best ODI team in the world. Having shown India it is possible to win without big stars. Having shown the world that a West Indies-like decline or an eighties-like decline (after Rod Marsh, Dennis Lillee and Greg Chappell left together) will not happen. Having reinforced the sporting cliché that it’s not over until it’s over. And having contributed to reinforcing the popularity of the 50-over game. The Gods of Big Things have become the Gods of Small Things, but the scoreline reads 4-2 Australia.

Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene provides an eyewitness account of the pitch fiasco at the Feroz Shah Kotla during the final ODI against India

27-Dec-2009
‘Till the moment Tillakaratne Dilshan got hit, that was when we realised this was getting bad.’•Associated PressWe do not consider the pitch to be dangerous or unfit because of its unpredictability. There have been many occasions when sideways movement or variable bounce poses a great challenge for the batsman to showcase the skills to handle those conditions. This also holds true in instances when the ball keeps a bit low, or once in a while, jumps up on to you. Even today, when the ball was keeping low, the most it could do was hit you on the ankle or the knee. But the ones that were taking off from the good length were really dangerous.Batsmen have very little time to react, especially with guys bowling at 135-140 kph, and that is a concern because you could get hit seriously, and these days it is not such a great thing to sit out with a broken bone for three to four months. It is not about the odd one cutting and hitting your fingers but when the batsmen are put in such a situation [like today] it becomes dangerous. That last ball, after which the game was stopped, from [Sudeep] Tyagi, the way it took off was ridiculous! That cannot happen.Did we foresee anything like that on the eve of the game or even today morning? Personally I had not come for practice on Saturday, as I was injured. But I have played in Delhi in the past and I was here as recently as this September, representing Wayamba in the Champions League Twenty20 where it was quite a different surface. Then it was a very dry-and-bare pitch where the ball kept low. The matches were mostly low-scoring affairs as batsmen struggled to get runs because there was hardly any pace and bounce. But it was still manageable and all teams went through similar experience.But today’s pitch was unusual because it was not the typical grassy one. Whatever grass was there, was in patches, while the rest was bare and the pitch had a hollow sound. We felt they were trying to do something different, trying to help in binding the pitch and the grass [with the top soil]. The groundsmen had informed us in the morning there was a new growth of grass, and since we do not have any knowledge in that area, we took it at face value. We thought there would be a bit of variable bounce too, but more of the tennis-ball variety, which is slow. But we never expected the pitch to behave like that.Till the moment Dilly [Tillakaratne Dilshan] got hit, that was when we realised this was getting bad. Then Sanath [Jayasuriya] got hit couple of times on his fingers. Luckily, most of our batsmen were left-handers, so the ball was actually going away from them. If there were right-handers batting they would’ve probably got hit on the chest or head. Then [Muthumudalige] Pushpakumara got hit on his elbow as well. It was just ridiculous as it had taken off from a length. After that Kanda [Thilina Kandamby] faced a ball which had a funny sort of bounce. As it went over Dhoni, we felt our batsmen would not be comfortable anymore.You’ve got to understand that in such a scenario it is no more a challenge. You are actually being threatened. When you are playing against a fast bowler the batsman has very short time to react. Generally he reacts to line and length. But in a situation like this you do not react. You just wait for something to happen. That is not good. You are hoping that the ball will not take off from that length, and all of a sudden you have to react so it is not a pleasant situation for the batsman.

You’ve got to understand that in such a scenario it is no more a challenge. You are actually being threatened. When you are playing against a fast bowler the batsman has very short time to react. Generally he reacts to line and length. But in a situation like this you do not react. You just wait for something to happen. That is not good.

As soon as Dilly returned into the dressing room they rushed him to the hospital for an X-ray, after he continued to feel uncomfortable despite applying the ice. His reaction was that it was unplayable.When Pushpakumara got hit, Sanga [Kumar Sangakkara] had already lodged his protest to the third umpire and the match referee. Sanath was already icing his fingers. We felt it was too dangerous for our guys and then Kandamby went and told the umpires soon after the Tyagi ball. The Indian camp too, felt the same and that it was not a fair wicket to play an ODI.We tried to see how long we could sustain it. We felt that when the pitch would dry up and the ball got softer, it might settle down. But we stopped the game in the 24th over, so things were not going to improve. It could’ve been worse. Usually what happens is divots are created due to the moisture in the morning and later when it gets drier then it can become much more dangerous. In the afternoon sun, with the harder ball we would’ve bowled in those dents and that would have become more dangerous.Still we should not point fingers at anyone. It is a newly relaid pitch. Curators do not make a pitch purposefully – they try to do a good job, make it lively and get something out of it. The preparation was not good. Usually a freshly relaid pitch takes about good 6-12 months for it to season itself. Obviously it would be a challenge if you play on it before that period. But when you see a pitch behaving like that, you do not take too many risks. You should instead try and season the entire square firstly.It wasn’t a fair contest between bat and ball and I understand it was very hard for the packed house at Feroz Shah Kotla. We all love the game but not to extent where somebody gets injured in a nasty way. If we can prevent that we should take those right decisions at the right time.

England’s grip on the series had been severely loosened by Mohammad Amir, but it was restored in dramatic fashion by an unlikely pair – Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad

Andrew Miller at Lord's27-Aug-2010After a summer of contests that tickled the fancy without quite hitting the spot, here at last was a day of Test cricket to savour. For England it began with catastrophe – the loss of four wickets for eight runs in the space of 16 morale-shattering deliveries – and at 47 for 5, with England’s No. 11 being summoned from the nets barely five minutes into the day’s play, it would have surprised no-one had the slump culminated in the fourth double-figure total in the space of five Tests. It’s been that sort of a season after all – one characterised by abject batting surrenders, not least those instigated by the prodigious and seemingly unplayable Mohammad Amir.But great Test cricket requires flow to counterbalance the ebb, which is why what happened next will live on in the memory long after the cheers of a raucously absorbed Lord’s crowd have faded into the night. With their credibility on the line after squandering a 2-0 series lead amid a clatter of wickets at The Oval, the onus was on England to fight with greater tenacity than at any stage since their rearguards at Centurion and Cape Town last winter. In the improbable pairing of Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad they found two men capable of bending the contest to their will.The manner in which Trott and Broad tore through the record-books was impressive in its own right, as they extended their unbroken stand to a massive 244, which is just two runs shy of England’s all-time eighth-wicket record, and already the tenth-best for any wicket from No. 7 to 10. That they did so with the innings at the absolute point of no-return at 102 for 7, however, was little short of awe-inspiring. As Graham Gooch had said on the rain-truncated first day, this Test is the only Test that counts – not the one that got away at The Oval, nor the moderately significant one that takes place in Brisbane in three months’ time. And to England’s credit, they found sufficient focus to keep the entire arena mesmerised by the here-and-now.”I knew that if we were 100 all out this Test series was going to be 2-2,” said Broad. “So I looked to take a bit of responsibility, and Trotty was fantastic in the way he was so clear with his thoughts. He said to play straight as you can and look to have positive intent, and we didn’t think about getting even to 200. We just talked about going up in fives – 105, 110 – which keeps your mind clear and you don’t worry too much about what the wicket is doing.”Though Broad stole the show with the purity of his maiden first-class hundred, it is Trott who has been England’s banker batsman throughout this most puzzling of summers. While his team-mates have never once questioned his value to the side, it’s taken the English public a long old while to warm to his awkward charms, which is especially strange when you consider how ubiquitous his form has been in home internationals, ever since he seized the Ashes with that brilliant debut hundred at The Oval last August. Today he brought up his 1000th Test run in his 23rd innings, but if you include the 94 and 110 he made in the Bangladesh ODIs back in July, he has 998 international runs from his last 15 home innings in all forms of international cricket, at a formidable average of 90.72.In another era, such credentials would have been sufficient to earn him instant cult status – take Robin Smith and Allan Lamb, for instance, two other South African-born batsmen whose heritage was not held against them by an adoring public. But the further problem with Trott is the fussy, borderline-OCD nature of his cricket. Like his fellow Capetonian Jacques Kallis, he cloaks his talent with a one-size-fits-all batting tempo that seems out of kilter with the entertainment-obsessed era into which the game has now moved. But as Kevin Pietersen unwittingly demonstrated with a ghastly first-ball mow to the keeper, patience remains a virtue that no Test cricketer can live without.Trott’s average in Lord’s Tests currently stands at an incredible 411, but if his double-century against Bangladesh earlier in the season was harshly derided for its langueur, this tour de force left no-one in any doubt about the value of a cricketer who sets himself for survival like Ray Mears in a bushtucker trial. His attacking strokes, such as they were, were nothing more than calculated caresses, as he utilised the precise amount of power required to pick the gap and find the boundary – and in so doing virtually eliminated any prospect of a false stroke, even while Amir and Mohammad Asif were probing his outside edge.”In the position we were in, he was out there for the whole collapse and saw the ball nipping around. That can easily get in a batsman’s mind,” said Broad. “But he played with such clarity, hit strongly through the leg-side and picked up anything that was slightly a bad ball and put it away. It was a special effort, and we all know what a great temperament he has. I think that will be fantastic for him in his Test career to come, because he’s already got more than 1,000 runs, averaging 50, and that is testament to the player he is.”Trott’s 149 was the second time in this bowler-ruled series that he had racked up more than 100 runs in a Test, and while his pair of fifties in the victory at Edgbaston were reasonably warmly received, their overall impact was lost amid the navel-gazing about Broad’s wayward shy at Zulqarnain Haider, and the question marks that that fit of pique raised about England’s temperamental readiness for the Ashes. However, the clarity of this response brooked no equivocation. The mongrel in Broad that compels him to tread a precarious disciplinary line will be invaluable when the going gets tough in Australia, as will Trott’s bloodless desire to bat on regardless of circumstance. But right at this moment, all that matters is the task at hand. And neither man is content with their position just yet.”It’s a very important morning tomorrow, because our big aim is to get 400,” said Broad. “It was key that we communicated this evening, because it would have been easy to give away a cheap wicket, and then – boom, boom – you’re not in a good position. We just talked of not giving our wickets away, because they’ll have a 30-over old ball tomorrow when their seamers are bowling, and hopefully we can capitalise on that.”For the time being, though, Broad can reflect on a seminal day in his development as an international cricketer. His only previous century in any form of cricket had come for Leicestershire Under-19s against Derbyshire during the formative years of his professional career, but now – thanks in no small part to the immense assurance provided by his partner – he has gone one better than his father, Chris, and scored a hundred at the home of cricket, no less.”I always dreamt of an extra-cover drive for my hundred,” he said. “But luckily, it was on my legs – and I’ll take anything. If I was to pick any ground in the world it would be at Lord’s, so this is one of those days that will live long in my memory. Today has given me a lot of confidence that I can score Test match hundreds, and I hope this is a stepping stone to go and score many more.”

Plays of the day from the Group B game between Netherlands and South Africa in the 2011 World Cup

Firdose Moonda at the PCA Stadium03-Mar-2011The almost catch of the day
The Dutch were on the verge of an early breakthrough when Hashim Amla got the bottom edge of his bat to connect with a Mudassar Bukhari slower ball. Wicketkeeper Wesley Barresi had to get forward to pouch a dying ball and if he’d moved one step further he may have. He got to the ball just as it grazed the grass but Barresi was hoping he’d grabbed it in time. Amla was already walking when umpire Richard Kettleborough sought the assistance of a replay that showed the ball had bounced ahead of the keeper .Whiplash of the day
AB de Villiers rightly chose the Powerplay as the time to lash out and for three balls it looked as though Bernard Loots would suffer the same fate as Dan van Bunge did four years ago at the hands of Herschelle Gibbs – six sixes. The first six was massive enough to illustrate that intent, a powerful swing that sent the ball somewhere into the Punjab sky. The second one, a straight loft, was being so closely watched by the long-on fielder that he tumbled into the advertising boards and the third one was a monster pull over midwicket. Much to Loots’ relief, he got the yorker right with his fourth ball and de Villiers could only manage a nudge for one.The best supporting actor of the day
Morne van Wyk was brought into the team because they thought they would need another batsman on a pitch that appeared difficult to bat on. He only got to spend one ball at the crease, which he watched from the non-strikers end and then galloped through for two runs and managed to put in an athletic dive at the end. He was able to do more in the second half of the match. de Villiers did not join his colleagues in the field because he strained his back while batting, so van Wyk was handed the wicketkeeping gloves.The reflex of the day
Jacques Kallis was made to react quickly off the first ball he bowled. Alexei Kervezee drove straight back at Kallis and the ball drifted a little past his right shoulder. Kallis could have let one of mid-on or mid-off scramble after it but he was up in a flash and reached over to grasp it. He had to juggle a little but had the catch in his clutches on the second attempt.The yo-yo referrals
Things were getting desperate with Netherlands on 119 for 8 and Imran Tahir was bowling every ball at his disposal to end it quickly. He hurled a flipper at Bernard Loots and trapped him right in front of middle stump. Loots wanted to hang around and asked for a review, which showed no contact with the bat and his marching orders were upheld. Tahir rapped Bernerd Westdijk on the pad with his next ball, this time not out was the on-field call and South Africa reviewed. Westdijk was struck outside the line and Kettleborough was proved right again. Westdijk didn’t last long after that, he was hit on the pad for the second time in succession and given out. He had to upkeep the reviewing tradition of that over but it was no use – three out of three for the on-field umpire and Nethrelands bowled out inside 35 overs.

‘Twas a bond that brooked neither stats nor sense

Lawrence Booth16-Dec-2010If love is blind, then my relationship with Allan Lamb was more of a myopic obsession. He never knew about it, of course, and the one time I met him I had to fight hard not to blub pathetically and admit all. I was 23 by then, but the two of us had already been through a lot together.It had not always been easy. Lamb finished with a Test average of 36.09, which pained me. His highest Test score was 142, which was frankly careless. And, well, he wasn’t exactly English, was he? “Limmie”, my mates would snigger in a mock-South African accent, as if that settled the argument. But none of this mattered. Lambie and I had a bond that transcended trivialities like statistics and passports.Everyone remembers the first Test series that captivated them. For me it was England’s trip to the West Indies in 1989-90, which I followed on the radio in my bedroom, insulated and isolated from the world. There was something magical about that faint crackle, and when Lambie made 132 in England’s shock win in the first Test at Sabina Park, I was under his spell. He later made 119 in Barbados, and I can still remember the words of the BBC commentator Trevor Bailey as another bottom-handed cover-drive – feet in concrete – was slain to the boundary: “Allan Lamb is a fine player!” The emphasis was on “is” and “fine”, as if Bailey was simply reminding us of one of life’s truisms. At least, that’s how this impressionable 14-year-old heard it.With Lamb came his adopted county, Northamptonshire – another deeply unfashionable choice. (Graham Gooch and Essex would have been so much simpler.) In 1995, with the help of Anil Kumble, he almost captained us to our first-ever championship. He was brassy, aggressive, irritating – and I loved him for it. Against Nottinghamshire we conceded over 500 in the first innings, but Lambie insisted on building a lead rather than declaring behind. He was one of four centurions as Northants rattled up 780 and won by an innings and plenty. I swelled with pride as journalists began to refer to us as “the people’s choice” (never mind that the people largely ignored county cricket), and nearly wept with frustration when our 12 wins out of 17 were not enough to topple either Warwickshire or Middlesex. We have never come so close since.By this stage Lambie was long gone as an England cricketer. He had retired from the international game in 1992, which meant that I only enjoyed at first-hand the final two and a half years of his imperfect career. Only research could complete the picture. I lapped up tales of his four centuries in the summer of 1984 – three of them against the all-conquering West Indians (he would make six Test hundreds against them in all, my favourite Lambie stat). I rejoiced in the time he hit 18 off Bruce Reid’s final over to beat the Aussies in a one-dayer in Sydney. I took vicarious pride in the fact that he had scored a century in only his third Test, against India at The Oval. And I could usually recite his batting average to within two decimal places. Didn’t he need a personal statistician?His career post-1990 was, to be honest, a bit of a struggle. But we pulled through. I remember spending a summer holiday in 1990 on a French campsite, and waiting anxiously as my brother did the newspaper-and-croissants run. Back he came with the news: Lambie had scored 109 in the second Test against India at Old Trafford! Surely this would silence the carpers, especially after his 139 in the first Test at Lord’s (but why did Gooch have to steal the show with that 333?). It was pure solipsism: Lambie existed only to thrill or disappoint , and I regarded it as a personal triumph when his 142 saved the Wellington Test early in 1992. A few months later I was there at Lord’s when Lambie faced what turned out to be his final ball in Test cricket: a grubber from Mushtaq Ahmed that struck him plumb in front. He made 12.There were three more seasons with Northants, and then, just like that, he was gone. There were wranglings over some controversial content in his autobiography – retirement was the only option. But did it have to be so clean and brutal? There was no farewell. Nothing. Those were hard days.It’s virtually impossible to put my finger on why I worshipped Lambie so zealously. He was a hopeless starter, and failed far too often for someone who played 79 Tests. He made 14 Test hundreds but only 18 fifties. He could look appalling against spin and tended to push at the ball with those stiff South African wrists. But he had this swagger. He loved to hook and cut, and he was a short man, which is why he scored runs against West Indies. And he had this nerveless, tireless way about him.When I got the chance to meet him, I was doing my finals at university. My girlfriend at the time and her family had been invited to a day of golf and socialising and – was I dreaming? – the Lambs would be there too. We shook hands, and chatted about Northamptonshire and scoring hundreds at Lord’s as Lambie organised the barbecue. The rest of the day was subsumed in booze, and I wondered whether I should have preserved Lambie in the realm of idolatry, rather than risked the warts-and-all reality. Did I regret meeting him? A bit. He would never quite be the same again. But we would always have Sabina.